There is no doubting that Inter have had a stellar mercato thus far. The Nerazzurri have significantly strengthened the defense and midfield, and are now focusing on beefing up the attack. A circus of names have been linked with Inter in the last couple weeks. Today, I will be analyzing Inter’s activity in the transfer market regarding attacker, as well as giving my opinion on what the best options are in my opinion.
At the moment Inter have 3 attackers: Mauro Icardi, Rodrigo Palacio, and Xherdan Shaqiri. Players like Samuele Longo do not seem like capable strikers to fire Inter into the Champions League, and should be loaned out to gain much needed first team experience. Inter’s transfer activity will greatly depend on the formation Roberto Mancini decides to play. A 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation would require more wing play, and therefore Inter would have to bring in wingers. Should Mancini decide to play a 4-3-1-2, then the Nerazzurri’s prime focus should be to bring in a striker.
Inter have been linked with a whole list of attacker: Stevan Jovetic, Mohammed Salah, Ivan Perisic, Juan Cuadrado, and Dries Mertens. I will be analyzing where the best opportunities lie, and which players Inter should and should not gamble on.
Stevan Jovetic
Jovetic would be a perfect player should Mancini decide to play a 4-3-1-2 formation. The Manchester City player could also play in a 4-2-3-1 formation as a trequartista, and a 4-3-3 formation as right winger. The Montenegrin has Serie A experience after his fine spell with Fiorentina. Unfortunately, Jovetic has struggled with injuries since the early days of his career. Great risks could result in a great return. This is the case with Inter and Stevan Jovetic, with the key work being ‘could.’ Jovetic is a proven goalscorer in Serie A, which is evident by the fact that he scored 15 goals in the 2012-2013 season with the Viola. However, it would be no good to see Inter pay for a player that is always injured and produces very few moments of magic during his short amount of time on the pitch. Manchester City are asking for around 15 million euros, which could prove to be a great reward for the risk taken. I would be willing to take the risk, seeing that Jovetic can fit into both of Mancini’s formation, and the Montenegrin is a fantastic player.
Mohammed Salah
The most intriguing transfer saga involving Inter so far this mercato has been the story of Mohammed Salah. The Egyptian vetoed a 12 month extension to his loan with Fiorentina after the Viola payed the 1 million euros to Chelsea to extend the player’s stay in Florence. Fiorentina’s relationship has gone from bad to worse, as the club released attacks against Inter for attempting to poach Salah from under their noses. Reports suggest that Fiorentina will not take legal action against any Italian clubs that sign Salah, but they would prefer to see the player end up at Roma. The player has agreed to join Roma, but Inter are still in the race. Chelsea want 25 million euros for the Egyptian, which is a hefty sum. Salah is a fantastic player, and he showed that by scoring 9 goals and assisting 4 in half a season for the Viola. I think that 25 million euros is a lot of money, but Inter should try to sign Salah, but the demands are excessive. First, we must sell and get rid of many players who serve as surplus requirements to Mancini. Unfortunately, we might be too late.
Ivan Perisic
Ivan Perisic is another player that has been heavily linked with the Nerazzurri in recent weeks, and talks of a deal reached a peek, until Wolfsburg’s sporting director Aulafs stated that the German club will not sell their players. Ivan Perisic is a solid player. The Croatian work-rate is fantastic, and the player has some skill to go along with it. Perisic may not be as technically gifted as Jovetic, but his work rate definitely makes up for it. The player’s price is about 20 million euros. For a player like Perisic, I think that this is too much, and Wolfsburg are proving very stubborn during negotiations. Persian broke his shoulder about a year ago, which could make the player slightly injury prone. Overall, I think that Perisic would be a solid addition to the team, but it seems that Inter must sell Shaqiri before bringing in the Croatian. I personally would like to see Shaqiri being given a chance, but it is up to Mancini, and maybe Perisic suits his style more.
The Verdict
I think that Inter need attackers to improve the squad, seeing that it may be the team’s least deep area. I think that Inter should keep Shaqiri and give him a chance at Inter. Unfortunately, this does not seem likely as the player seems destined to leave. Should the Swiss international depart, I would like to see a right winger, and a left winger brought in. However, it seem that Mancini is pointing in the direction of using a 4-3-1-2 formation. Inter are very close to pulling the trigger on the Jovetic deal. I personally prefer a 4-3-3 formation, and my dream trident is Perisic-Icardi-Salah. It seems like this will not happen, due to the amount of money it would take to bring in the two wingers. In the end I think that we will have a strike partnership of Jovetic-Icardi, which is definitely a solid paring. There is still a large chunk of the mercato remaining, and anything is possible. Forza Inter!
What do you guys think Inter should do regarding attackers this mercato. Leave a comment down below and hit me up on twitter @aadamahmed91.
I say lets stick with the current 4312, the fovorite of Mancio and buy only Jovetic and let Shaq go if it really has to happen(I wanted him to stay with us badly but looks Mancio doesnt like him anymore) and transfer the remained deadwoods and the final XI would look like this:
Jovetic Icardi
Hernanes
Kova Kondo Brozovic
Santon(jj5 🙁 ) Murillo Miranda Montoya
Handa
I was under the impression we were aiming to get Perisic or Salah plus Jovetic, so 2 as oppose to just 1 of them??
go for kevin mirallas cheaper option than salah. perisic-icardi-mirallas is not a bad idea but we must sign a striker first
I’m with u on this
For God sake just play 4-3-1-2 as that is the best suited formation for the players we have. Sell Shaq and use that money to sign Jovetic and get a good leftback and we are set. Clear the junk players after that. Jovetic-Icardi upfront with Palacio-Longo as subs. Should be enough.
I have to agree. 4-3-1-2 seems like a formation that fits the current player roster the best. Sell Shaqiri, one of our only wingers and buy Joveitč. Without further reinforcements, it would look something like this: Handanovič, Montoya, Murillo, Miranda, Santon,Medel(CDM), Kondogbia and Kovačič(CM), Hernanes(CAM) and Jovetič + Icardi as the strikers.
but Hernanes won’t have a proper sub
We still have Guarin(no joke) if he doesnt leave. He could do the trick when Hernanes can’t play. He is not that bad at attacking, and if we give him no defending responsibility he might just be useful. Also, Palacio is already kind of playing as a SS supporting Icardi, he could probably play as a CF/CAM behind the strikers if needed. Biabiany could also lend a hand. But yeah, no true CAM. Still better than the winger situation currently. With the sale of Shaqiri(seems imminent), we only have Biabiany. So we need to buy 2 wingers and even then, there would be only 1 true winger sub. Depends on our ability to sign further players, but I think if we got one signing left, Jovetič and 4-3-1-2 would be a decent choice.
there is no question about that, 4-3-1-2 is the way to go, i’ve been saying that forever
but MAYBE if Perisic won’t come, Shaqiri could be kept for the CAM position, because that 3m loan fee for Jovetic can’t hurt that bad. ofcourse, if Shaqiri HAS TO go, no matter what, that’s another question…
btw, Hernanes, Kova, Kondo, Brozo, Medel, Guarin, Gnou? is still short in my opinion, so another signing is a must for the midfield – i just hope it’s not Motta or Melo
Read all the targets, I am confuse with Mancini choices. Here they are what I questioned:
(1) Mancini wants to sell Shaq but asking Salah. This is confusing because both Shaq and Salah are same players, typical wingers. I wonder that why Mancini does not give Shaq opportunity to perform rather than complicate ourselves to bring Salah?
(2) I agree with Andrian. Bundesliga and Serie A are completely different league. Bundesliga is more like EPL. I am worry that Perisic will be end up like Podolski. It is a risky transfer.
(3) Jovetic is a very good player. When he was played with La Viola, I saw him a decent player. But, his moment at Etihad did not satisfied. He spent days on medical treatment because of knee injury (CMIIW). This is also confusing. Why did Serie A which playing roughly than EPL is more suitable with his feet? We can see that he had more injuries when played in EPL rather than Serie A.
Actually the EPL is more faster and rougher than Serie A as stated by Aguero and Veron.
Salah isn’t the same as Shaq. Basel sold Shaq no prob because they got Salah. Salah>>>>>>>>>> Shaq, Salahis so light on his feet and has dibbling skill, shaq has the agility and dribbling skills of a bear.
ofcourse salah icardi perisic will be perfect but can we get it done?? the answer is no. rather then nothing i hope we get jovetic first and then find another winger (maybe perisic ) or let shaqiri stay for another season. palacio hernanes and icardi not going to work.
Jovetic will be the one that we need, he will be serious partner for icardi . . i think perisic will not come, but i thanks if drogba come, he will be a good benefit if mancini wants solo striker tactics which one should stronger the midfielder . . . palacio will be good second options for this tactics . . .Forza Inter!
Im just afraid that we lost all of our targets. we always failed to wraped the deal if it took much time n became never ending story, just like lavezi, paulinho, suarez, n so on.
Shaq is definitely gone. Mancio prefers Perisic to replace his place. No doubt about his offensive skills and qualities. However, i’m still worry given the fact that Perisic is just the same as Shaq as a newcomer to Serie-A. I’ve been watching Bundesliga and Serie-A for years and I’m quite sure that each league has its distinctive characteristics and environments. Perisic transfer saga must be closed quickly, thus he will have more time to adapt with Serie-A and his new teammates. Otherwise, I’m afraid he would just end up like Shaq 2.0 next year and we have to pay big redemption fees for Perisic next year. That’s gamble #1
Jovetic, an all-round attacker, got serie-A experiences and has all parameters to be a great trequartista that we’ve been dreaming since Sneijder’s era. In terms of offensive skills and flairs, Jovetic is a full joy to watch. No doubt about that. However, there is still a BIG question mark regarding his consistency and fitness state. We all know talents are not enough to achieve success in the long term. Jovetic has to find consistency and continuity again in his game and it takes time, otherwise he would just end up like our injury-prone talents like Ronaldo and Adriano. I see Jovetic is like a broken Ferrari. Hopefully, our doctors can fix the broken Ferrari. But it is very unlikely though since Jovetic is a human not a machine. That’s gamble #2.
I guess Thohir and Mancio have agreed that Inter must rise back to its proper place this year with all costs, even by taking risky operations. After all, we won the BIG treble after we gambled by trading Ibra with Eto’o. Let’s just cross our fingers, that we will get another big jackpot with these gambles. I’m just sick watching the old-lady bitch up there, this year maybe our best chance to kick the old-lady’s ass really hard again.
Vidal also came from bundesliga and we saw what he did
Yes but it takes time. I’m afraid, Mancio does not have enough patience today. No wonder, he dumped Shaq in less than 6 months.
This season we got a better chance than any other to overtake juve. They have lost 3 key players, Tevez, Pirlo and Vidal, no matter what new players they buy, it will take time for these players to adapt
in my view kondogbia, hernanes and icardi are the most important players. kovacic should also have a place. because of the latter inter should field a 3-man mid – with kova as LCM or regista. hernanes will only work with a role as trequartista or ACM.
this leads to the conclusion that inter should use a 4312 formation. i think non of kova or hernanes should be benched, and thus this is the only possibility unless kova can play CDM with Kondo in a 4231. the purchase of jovetic is thus of high importance. he’s also flexible and can be played on either wings (i think). i would use midfield: medel, kovacic, kondogbia; ACM: hernanes; Att: Jovetic, icardi.
for me perisic is a dream. i just know he would fit in perfectly together with hernanes and jovetic/salah/shaqiri. oh, if only kova could be better in defense and inter just could pay the damn money or demand action from the agent or perisic to express them self..
Given the reports the only viable deal is jovetic, so my suggestion is get him now before we lose him too- as it has been with other targets- and the squad size must reduce swiftly. This will certainly give depth for a 4-3-1-2 formation, which given the financial situation should be the main priority right now and the minor focus should be a winger. In addition, if Duda arrives and shaqiri stays I guess there is some sort of depth for a 4-3-3 formation (Duda, jovetic, shaqiri and biabiany could play as wingers) but it would be as a secondary strategy rather than a primary one.
Yes sign Jovetic but dump Shaq. With palacio-icardi-jojo we can bring back the trident in a 4-3-3 with medel/motta (hopefully) as holding and kdog and kova flanking. Would be amazing and we would be able to switch to 4-3-1-2 on the fly. I also hope we nab either Drogab or Cassano as our 4th attacker. With Cassano we can reuse the cassano-milito-palacio trident with icardi/drogba filling the punta role and cassano/hernanes as the assist man and palacio/jovetic the second striker.
We need to sell Shaq, Naga, Jesus, Rano, Santon, Schelotto, Longo.
With the following team setup in 4-3-1-2, 4-3-3, 4-3-2-1, 4-2-3-1 are possible and I think we will have a good shot at the Scudetto and top 3 without a doubt:
CBs: Murillo, Miranda, Vidic, Andreolli (Medel) we really need max 5 players here
L/RBs: Montoya, Dodo, D’ambrosio, Andreolli. I wanna see Guarin, Medel, Rano tried in these positions. (Shaq could have been maybe converted to a LB since he doesn’t have the technique of a winger/playmaker, just power and pace which could have been good for LB)
CM/DM/AMFs: Guarin, Medel, Brozo, Kovacic, K-dog, Hernanes, (Motta and/or Cambiasso)
CF/SS: Jovetic, Palacio, Icardi (Cassano and/or Drogba)
If we get rid of all the players mentioned we really only need 1 attacker, 1 holding mid and 1 Lateral Defender. Worst case scenario we keep Santon and just get Motta/Cuchu + Drogba/Cassano.
To all the Cassano haters: he’s gonna be cheap, he’s a pure class player that can win you a game out of nowhere, he’s an Interista and Mancio can keep him in check. (Mancio himself being an ex nut case player/samp bandiera)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJOueLF7nSI
well, if Osvaldo had to go because of his fall-out with a teammate then i don’t think Cassano would be tolerated once again after his bust-out with the coach…
ps: if it were up to me, both of them would still wear Inter shirt
I’m very skeptical about a maurito-JoJo partnership as it doesn’t feel they suit each other…does jovetic run a lot at least or play deeper? What do u think?
they perfectly complement each other. Jovetic can play as a SS, he’s good in the build-up play, has great vision and long shot while Icardi is a clinical finisher
So is jovetic similar to a rooney? That would be perfect because maurito really needs someone next to him to do the work and running, as well as link up play
Jovetic is in the same mold as Baggio/Totti. He’s that type of creative attacker that can both be an assist man or goal scorer.
Palacio holder really???Shaqiri LB?Cassano back?He is conflict player.You write so mani bulshits..